VU1 dial support

[osxdude]

I've taken a huge interest in Sasa Karanovic's VU meter system monitoring. There was at least one moderately popular video containing it. Problem is, nobody is buying and nobody is making plugins. Unfortunately, I'm not a developer and don't really have an interest in becoming one. Yeah, there's other ways, but needle dials are cool. I hate to make a request like this, but the engineer who created it told me to, and I haven't seen anything develop. So far, I've only found one plug in for Fan Control.

How can we get this into AIDA64?

My ideas for AIDA64 support include:

• RGB backlight support (temp thresholds, etc)
• Automatic dial background image generation and setting(to allow for when a dial page changes, the label on the dial changes)
• Multi-page support
• Software dial hiding (so one could hook another application into a specific dial)

Would be neat to just install the "server" software and check a box in AIDA64 to use them like the many other things supported. It's just HTTP GET requests to a web server. This would allow dials to be used over the network as well.

The hardest part is the price of the dials themselves. A starter kit (3 dials and a hub) is just under $200 USD shipped if you're interested.

[Fiery]

20 hours ago, osxdude said:

I've taken a huge interest in Sasa Karanovic's VU meter system monitoring. There was at least one moderately popular video containing it. Problem is, nobody is buying and nobody is making plugins. Unfortunately, I'm not a developer and don't really have an interest in becoming one. Yeah, there's other ways, but needle dials are cool. I hate to make a request like this, but the engineer who created it told me to, and I haven't seen anything develop. So far, I've only found one plug in for Fan Control.

How can we get this into AIDA64?

My ideas for AIDA64 support include:

• RGB backlight support (temp thresholds, etc)
• Automatic dial background image generation and setting(to allow for when a dial page changes, the label on the dial changes)
• Multi-page support
• Software dial hiding (so one could hook another application into a specific dial)

Would be neat to just install the "server" software and check a box in AIDA64 to use them like the many other things supported. It's just HTTP GET requests to a web server. This would allow dials to be used over the network as well.

The hardest part is the price of the dials themselves. A starter kit (3 dials and a hub) is just under $200 USD shipped if you're interested.

An intriguing project indeed.  We've ordered a VU1 Starter Kit in order to evaluate the product.  The LCD facility of AIDA64 would have to be altered and improved considerably to implement support for VU1 though, so please give us a few weeks to work on this.  Meanwhile we'd love to see how many other users would be interested in VU meter support, and whether there're alternative hardware solutions.

[kirtangl]

Hi there, This is by no means me rushing you , I was just working on a python script to pull data from Afterburner and RTSS to send to my VU1 dials, and I had an issue where it was freezing up and was looking for info when I stumbled upon this post.

 

I actually already use AIDA64 for a screen I have, so if I can use it for my VU1 also (Or alternatively) this will save me loads of headaches and probably be 1000x more polished than any "Temporary" solution I come up with .

 

All of that fluff to say, any updates? Did you receive the VU1 and have you looked into adding support either with or without the server they provide etc?

 

Cheers

[Fiery]

6 hours ago, kirtangl said:

Hi there, This is by no means me rushing you , I was just working on a python script to pull data from Afterburner and RTSS to send to my VU1 dials, and I had an issue where it was freezing up and was looking for info when I stumbled upon this post.

I actually already use AIDA64 for a screen I have, so if I can use it for my VU1 also (Or alternatively) this will save me loads of headaches and probably be 1000x more polished than any "Temporary" solution I come up with .

All of that fluff to say, any updates? Did you receive the VU1 and have you looked into adding support either with or without the server they provide etc?

Cheers

Yes, we've already received the displays and already started to lay the necessary foundations to implement support for them.  So stay tuned ... 😉 

[kirtangl]

This is great news. I managed to get mine to display the main things I want, but have not got the backlights changing based on values etc, so I have it to a point that I am happy to wait as long as it takes! Having it built in natively to will be amazing, not just for me but the future of the dials themselves, their forum seems to be a little lacking and AIDA is probably the most popular SensorPanel app around, so I hope its the boost they need to keep making them, and see the community grow.

 

Side note, absolutely love how they look / compliment the LCD SensorPanel I already have, it's a nice mix of new and old.

[kirtangl]

Hi, sorry to double post, I just wanted to add, it might be worth looking into both direct updating the gauges over serial, as well as the API, I might be the exception (It's hard to know since the community seems rather small atm), but I have had issues where the server freezes up, or times out a lot when you want those gauges working the most, while my SensorPanel and aida64 continues to run perfectly. It could just be something I need to resolve, I have asked them for support but just a heads up :)

[Fiery]

6 hours ago, kirtangl said:

Hi, sorry to double post, I just wanted to add, it might be worth looking into both direct updating the gauges over serial, as well as the API, I might be the exception (It's hard to know since the community seems rather small atm), but I have had issues where the server freezes up, or times out a lot when you want those gauges working the most, while my SensorPanel and aida64 continues to run perfectly. It could just be something I need to resolve, I have asked them for support but just a heads up

First we need to make this whole thing work via the network protocol.  As soon as it works as expected and provides everything you need, we can implement a direct USB interface as well.

[kirtangl]

Perfect, I am grateful that it is being worked on at all, it seems like a niche product, hopefully with AIDA support they become more popular!

[Fiery]

On 5/14/2025 at 10:00 AM, kirtangl said:

Perfect, I am grateful that it is being worked on at all, it seems like a niche product, hopefully with AIDA support they become more popular!

@osxdude We're getting close to presenting you the first beta build that supports VU1.  Our only remaining concern is updating the image on the e-ink display.  We're not quite sure if it's a good idea to update the image everytime you make any small adjustment to the display layout.  We wouldn't wanna shorten the lifespan of the display.  Do you guys have an idea on what the best practice may be about managing this issue?

[Fiery]

@kirtangl @osxdude

You can check the VU Dials LCD module in the latest AIDA64 beta update:

https://www.aida64.com/downloads/latesta64xebeta

Please note that it has a few limitations:

1) The icons design aren't finalized just yet.  Please also let us know if you'd prefer 24x24 pixel icons (that we currently use) or larger ones.  The VU1 Demo Application uses 30x30 pixel icons for example.

2) Currently up to four VU1 devices are supported.  Let us know if you have more devices daisy-chained in your setup.

3) Only one LCD page is supported per device.  It's due to the issue of slow background image update as well as due to our concerns of shortening the lifespan of the e-ink display.  So in effect you need to use each VU1 device for a single indicator.

4) Since this is a special kind of LCD device (as managed internally by AIDA64), you can only place a single item on the LCD layout.  That single item will handle everything: the behavior of the needle, the background image (including the icon, label, unit, and scale) displayed on the dial, and the backlight (RGB) configuration as well.

5) The background image is only updated twice a minute.  This is due to our concerns of shortening the lifespan of the e-ink display.  We've tried to get in touch with the developer of VU1 (Sasa Karanovic) to discuss our concerns with him.  We've tried to contact him on multiple channels without luck so far though.

6) At exit AIDA64 doesn't blank (clear) the background image on the dial.  This is once again, due to our concerns of shortening the lifespan of the e-ink display.  AIDA64 will however return the needle to the left-most (zero) position and switches the backlight off.

[osxdude]

15 hours ago, Fiery said:

@kirtangl @osxdude

You can check the VU Dials LCD module in the latest AIDA64 beta update:

https://www.aida64.com/downloads/latesta64xebeta

Please note that it has a few limitations:

1) The icons design aren't finalized just yet.  Please also let us know if you'd prefer 24x24 pixel icons (that we currently use) or larger ones.  The VU1 Demo Application uses 30x30 pixel icons for example.

2) Currently up to four VU1 devices are supported.  Let us know if you have more devices daisy-chained in your setup.

3) Only one LCD page is supported per device.  It's due to the issue of slow background image update as well as due to our concerns of shortening the lifespan of the e-ink display.  So in effect you need to use each VU1 device for a single indicator.

4) Since this is a special kind of LCD device (as managed internally by AIDA64), you can only place a single item on the LCD layout.  That single item will handle everything: the behavior of the needle, the background image (including the icon, label, unit, and scale) displayed on the dial, and the backlight (RGB) configuration as well.

5) The background image is only updated twice a minute.  This is due to our concerns of shortening the lifespan of the e-ink display.  We've tried to get in touch with the developer of VU1 (Sasa Karanovic) to discuss our concerns with him.  We've tried to contact him on multiple channels without luck so far though.

6) At exit AIDA64 doesn't blank (clear) the background image on the dial.  This is once again, due to our concerns of shortening the lifespan of the e-ink display.  AIDA64 will however return the needle to the left-most (zero) position and switches the backlight off.

Hey this looks great! I have four and they're working good. RGB is reacting and all that. I think the "driver" makes it so the display doesn't actually change if there isn't a change. And I agree about one LCD page anyway. The update is indeed quite slow so it's probably best. You'd have to have an interval of like...minimum 30 seconds for it to be useful.

[Fiery]

21 minutes ago, osxdude said:

Hey this looks great! I have four and they're working good. RGB is reacting and all that. I think the "driver" makes it so the display doesn't actually change if there isn't a change. And I agree about one LCD page anyway. The update is indeed quite slow so it's probably best. You'd have to have an interval of like...minimum 30 seconds for it to be useful.

It looks great!  Thank you for your feedback.  And yes, we're aware of the fact that the VU1 Server only updates the background image when it changes, but when you fiddle around with the layout, every small change (like trying a different text size, switching the icon on or off) would generate a new background image that the VU1 Server will consider a new image and so would update the display.

[kirtangl]

On 5/25/2025 at 5:22 PM, Fiery said:

@osxdude We're getting close to presenting you the first beta build that supports VU1.  Our only remaining concern is updating the image on the e-ink display.  We're not quite sure if it's a good idea to update the image everytime you make any small adjustment to the display layout.  We wouldn't wanna shorten the lifespan of the display.  Do you guys have an idea on what the best practice may be about managing this issue?

Hey mate, the way I handled it was just to update the image to someting with a gauge scale, an icon (little CPU for instance) and a name, and then leave the value for the actual needle, it takes around 2-3 seconds to update the screen anyhow.

 

For easy to notice alerts, I just update the background LED to a gradient, eg, my base BG is white, and then if it hits a threshold of say 50, it goes yellow, then between 50 and 80 it fades between, yellow, Orange and red. That has been working well for me

 

I have not had a chance to check out the beta yet (I am working with their support to resolve this timeout issue I am having), sorry, but I see @osxdude has, and it looks amazing, just a note, the way the updates seem to work, is the easing sets the max they can move, and how often etc, default is every 50ms but max 2% I think, so if your CPU usages goes from 10-50, and you update every 500ms, it will update max 2% every 50ms until your next input... but you can adjust the easing settings, both the ms between updates, the % amount etc, which can be set in the web UI (kinda) or using the API, if that helps, you can set the max % to 100 (I have) but it gets pretty erratic

 

 

Edit: Just to add on some of your points.

2, I have 6 gauges (Sorry :D), but for testing I am happy to try 4, I think I will be getting my hub RMA'd soon so I will let you know.

5, I also had issues getting in contact with him, you might find better support from streacom support directly, they have been VERY responsive, and helpful, they seem to understand the product, but they do not seem to have direct control over the software unfortunately.

6, The way their demo and how I have handled it, I just set the needle to 0 and LED to off when closing the app, because otherwise if you shutdown they stay on in some cases, but leaving the lcd as a static image seems perfectly acceptable (Preferred in my case).

And just a note, I am not 100% sure on the quality, model etc of their display, but most eink displays can handle 50-100 million updates before they start to fail, and they will more than likely fail in other ways before that, so I wouldn't be too concerned about accidentally updating too frequently etc.

 

 

[Sir_coleslaw]

Did I do something wrong when I asked the same question, in simpler terms, over a year and a half ago?

I've even programmed a little Python app myself that retrieves the data from AIDA64 via shared memory because no one responded to me here in this thread: 

 

[osxdude]

9 hours ago, Sir_coleslaw said:

Did I do something wrong when I asked the same question, in simpler terms, over a year and a half ago?

I've even programmed a little Python app myself that retrieves the data from AIDA64 via shared memory because no one responded to me here in this thread: 

 

Hopefully it was just timing, or my detail intrigued staff enough to take a second look. I could have sworn I looked for a preexisting thread before I made mine too...Still good to know I wasn't the only one, lol

[Fiery]

10 hours ago, Sir_coleslaw said:

Did I do something wrong when I asked the same question, in simpler terms, over a year and a half ago?

I've even programmed a little Python app myself that retrieves the data from AIDA64 via shared memory because no one responded to me here in this thread: 

 

I apologize for not responding to your now -- I admit -- quite old topic.  And no, you haven't done anything wrong, but we simply ran out of development resources last year and couldn't take on such projects that didn't attract a wide range of users of AIDA64.  Fortunately in the 2nd half of 2024 we managed to expand and optimize our development team in order to take on a variety of new and old projects.

[Fiery]

12 hours ago, kirtangl said:

Hey mate, the way I handled it was just to update the image to someting with a gauge scale, an icon (little CPU for instance) and a name, and then leave the value for the actual needle, it takes around 2-3 seconds to update the screen anyhow.

 

For easy to notice alerts, I just update the background LED to a gradient, eg, my base BG is white, and then if it hits a threshold of say 50, it goes yellow, then between 50 and 80 it fades between, yellow, Orange and red. That has been working well for me

 

I have not had a chance to check out the beta yet (I am working with their support to resolve this timeout issue I am having), sorry, but I see @osxdude has, and it looks amazing, just a note, the way the updates seem to work, is the easing sets the max they can move, and how often etc, default is every 50ms but max 2% I think, so if your CPU usages goes from 10-50, and you update every 500ms, it will update max 2% every 50ms until your next input... but you can adjust the easing settings, both the ms between updates, the % amount etc, which can be set in the web UI (kinda) or using the API, if that helps, you can set the max % to 100 (I have) but it gets pretty erratic

 

 

Edit: Just to add on some of your points.

2, I have 6 gauges (Sorry :D), but for testing I am happy to try 4, I think I will be getting my hub RMA'd soon so I will let you know.

5, I also had issues getting in contact with him, you might find better support from streacom support directly, they have been VERY responsive, and helpful, they seem to understand the product, but they do not seem to have direct control over the software unfortunately.

6, The way their demo and how I have handled it, I just set the needle to 0 and LED to off when closing the app, because otherwise if you shutdown they stay on in some cases, but leaving the lcd as a static image seems perfectly acceptable (Preferred in my case).

And just a note, I am not 100% sure on the quality, model etc of their display, but most eink displays can handle 50-100 million updates before they start to fail, and they will more than likely fail in other ways before that, so I wouldn't be too concerned about accidentally updating too frequently etc.

Thank you for your feedback!  We'll expand the number of supported VU1 dials from four to eight in the next AIDA64 beta update.  I personally would feel more comfortable about frequent e-ink updates only after discussing this matter with the project owner.

[kirtangl]

14 hours ago, Fiery said:

Thank you for your feedback!  We'll expand the number of supported VU1 dials from four to eight in the next AIDA64 beta update.  I personally would feel more comfortable about frequent e-ink updates only after discussing this matter with the project owner.

Yeah and that is completely understandable, I wouldn't mind the ability to not update the eInk at all, so maybe the option to just upload a background image. I made custom backgrounds, and because of that I have the icons etc separate so I am sure I can make it work, but it could be a nice option also, and then there is no worry about having the updates at all.

 

Also since in theory the backgrounds are static, you could always just disable auto updating and have a refresh button (Just a thought but I guess that makes things a little more complicated for a single use case).

[Fiery]

1 hour ago, kirtangl said:

Yeah and that is completely understandable, I wouldn't mind the ability to not update the eInk at all, so maybe the option to just upload a background image. I made custom backgrounds, and because of that I have the icons etc separate so I am sure I can make it work, but it could be a nice option also, and then there is no worry about having the updates at all.

Also since in theory the backgrounds are static, you could always just disable auto updating and have a refresh button (Just a thought but I guess that makes things a little more complicated for a single use case).

Internally, we were debating on whether the background image update would be -- as you suggested -- possible only on demand, by e.g. pressing an "Update Image" button.  But we ultimately went for a less confusing and more automatized solution and just implemented the 30-second delay between image updates.  Since the VU1 framework on itself also has a built-in protection about updating the e-ink with the same image, this solution IMHO is safe enough to prevent major issues to happen.  The only inconvenience is that during the VU1 layout design process you can see the changes you make with a bit of a delay.  But fortunately on the LCD layout preview (in AIDA64 Preferences) you can see what changes, so IMHO it's okay this way, and it's not too much of a compromise.